My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 17 Domineering?

When Peng Yuanchao said, "I'll give you two grams at most," Zhou Jingming knew there was room for negotiation.

At the very least, this leader doesn't seem to be that confident in his ability to find promising talents.

Actually, discussing the distribution of gold and sand is no different from buying vegetables at the market.

When haggling, turning around and walking away is always a good way to cut your losses; it's the most direct method.

Just as there isn't just one vegetable stall in a market, there's also more than one group of people coming to Altay to pan for gold.

Peng Yuanchao paid the initial investment, so it's only right that he gets a larger share.

Zhou Jingming's ability to find Jin Miao is an intangible asset, and it should not be cheapened.

After all, everyone has to find the gold seedlings to make money; if they can't find the gold seedlings, it's all for nothing, and if they can't find good gold seedlings, they will naturally earn less.

Zhou Jingming, on the other hand, had the confidence to find promising young talents.

Many people go to great lengths, even spending large sums of money, just to get information from a geological exploration technician about where gold deposits are found, and they still might not be able to find such a way.

Now, a living, breathing geological exploration technician is standing right in front of you—what a rare opportunity!

Zhou Jingming believed that as long as Peng Yuanchao wasn't stupid, he should know that there was nothing wrong with this distribution of gold dust.

Unless he is truly skilled at finding Jin Miao.

As Zhou Jingming turned around, Peng Yuanchao pointed at Wu Yang: "I can agree to give you three grams... but what about him? Why should he get two grams?"

Zhou Jingming glanced at Wu Yang, then turned to look at Peng Yuanchao, his expression calm: "He is my friend."

Upon hearing this, Peng Yuanchao's face twitched slightly. He pondered for a while and said, "Isn't your reason a bit too domineering?"

"Is that domineering? With my ability to find gold seedlings, even if you offer this price now, I would still think you're getting a good deal."

Zhou Jingming smiled faintly at him: "Also, I might as well tell you the truth, my friend is very worthy of those two grams of gold dust, you will know in the future."

"Like I said, this is the price we want for the two of us. You'll cover the initial investment, and whether you want the two of us or not is up to you... Don't waste time, just give me a straight answer."

Perhaps infected by Zhou Jingming's confidence, Peng Yuanchao jumped off the six-stick carriage, paced around the courtyard several times, scratched his head and chose to compromise: "Let's do it your way... Once we're in the mountains, your ability to find Jin Miao should be as tough as your current tone, and your friend is really worth the price of those two grams of gold dust."

Zhou Jingming laughed: "There are only four people now, and we still need to find six more. You should first think about how to persuade the newcomers to agree to this distribution..."

It will probably take quite a while longer. Later, my friend and I will meet you at the hotel. You can think it over carefully then; it's not too late to back out.

After saying that, he walked straight out of the hotel courtyard.

Wu Yang followed, saying, "Thank you, Brother Zhou!"

"polite……"

For Zhou Jingming, the allocation method he helped Wu Yang negotiate was merely a means of winning him over.

Having such a skilled person by your side would greatly enhance your personal safety.

It's like using someone else's flowers to present to Buddha; Zhou Jingming is happy to do such things.

Based on his observations of Wu Yang over the past two days, this young man who had been expelled from the armed police force was still somewhat naive, making it a good time to build trust.

"Brother Zhou, where are we going?"

Wu Yang handed over another Red Lotus cigarette.

Zhou Jingming took the cigarette, lit it, and took a puff: "Let's wander around the county town and make some contact with other gold prospectors... In case Peng Yuanchao can't handle the later gold prospectors, or if he has other options and changes his mind and doesn't want us anymore, we'll have somewhere to go."

Among gold prospectors, there are many shrewd and capable individuals, as well as many skilled at finding promising gold. I may not be their best option, so I need to be prepared for multiple possibilities.

After all, they haven't put their fingerprints on that agreement yet.

At this time, the snow in the mountains began to melt, so we had to hurry up and head into the mountains to secure territory.

Wu Yang then asked, "Brother Zhou, if you have the ability to find Jin Miao, why don't you form your own team?"

Zhou Jingming took a deep breath: "Do you think I don't want to? But to form a team, we need to supply everyone in the team with supplies for living in the mountains for half a year, and we also need to buy all kinds of tools needed for gold panning. This is a considerable expense, and it will take two or three thousand yuan to support it. If we are not careful, we will lose this money."

I worked on a geological team for several years. At first, I only earned twenty or thirty yuan a month. Later, the salary increased to fifty or sixty yuan. After a year, after covering my own expenses and sending money home, I had almost nothing left. I'll see how this gold rush goes. If I can successfully earn enough to cover my initial investment, I'll form my own team.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Yang's eyes lit up: "Take me with you then!"

"Let's talk about it after we come out safely from this gold panning trip. Maybe you won't want to pan for gold anymore by then. It's too early to talk about this now. Nobody can predict what will happen in the future, right?"

Zhou Jingming was telling the truth. Even though he had been reborn, he knew that life was unpredictable and that not everything could be controlled.

Moreover, everything that happened in Altay in the past five years was an unknown gap for him, who had spent his previous life in a labor camp. It was hard to say what he would encounter after going into the mountains.

Anyone can make empty boasts.

But once trouble comes, they will severely damage their character.

He certainly hoped that when he was able to build a gold-mining team, Wu Yang would still be with him, but the more that was the case, the less he could make any promises.

It's better to be honest and leave some room for maneuver!

Of course, such honesty depends on who you are talking to.

The two strolled around and then went to the Selim Hotel. They briefly met with the people who had contributed the initial capital. The five of them were jointly investing, and the gold dust was to be distributed as follows: each of them would receive two grams, and those who joined later would only receive one gram each. They would also need to find six more people.

A quick assessment reveals that this distribution method is far more ruthless than that of Peng Yuanchao.

In those days, there were usually two ways to distribute gold panning teams that went into the mountains. One was that the person who provided the initial capital would pay the recruits a fixed wage on a regular basis according to the agreed price.

Another method is to not pay wages, but to pan for gold dust and then distribute the gold dust when a certain amount is accumulated.

Following the method of the five people dividing the gold dust, if five more people are recruited, it would mean that sixteen grams of gold dust would be accumulated before it could be divided. The five people would then take nearly two-thirds of it, and the remaining one-third would be divided among the new recruits.

Moreover, the five of them were a group of people who had known each other since their gold mining days. They were all veteran gold miners and had an absolute advantage in the group. If you weren't careful, a newcomer could be taken advantage of without even realizing it.

Zhou Jingming decisively chose to give up. He knew very well that in such a team, there was a high probability that he would end up doing a lot of work for little reward, so there was no need to get involved.

Looking at the exchange of glances between them, Zhou Jingming bluntly said that they felt the amount given was too little.

The other party just scoffed and said sarcastically, "Then you'd better hurry up and find a team that can give you more gold dust. You can't waste your time earning gold dust... It's just selling some physical labor, and you dare to ask for such an exorbitant price here..."

Zhou Jingming shook his head with a faint smile, called Wu Yang, and left the Selim Hotel.

In Altan County, those who could afford to advance funds mostly stayed in hotels. When Zhou Jingming passed by other hotels, he would also go in to inquire.

Experienced gold prospectors don't all go to balloon shooting stalls to pay for information; most of them gather information on their own.

Some people with limited funds even avoid hotels to save on accommodation costs and food expenses, preferring to eat dry rations. They would stand on the street and quietly ask passersby who looked like they were going to pan for gold if they were there, making it seem like they were pimps.

Although gold mining is common in Altan, the lifting of the ban on private gold mining does not mean that it is completely unregulated and uncontrolled. There are still some key departments and personnel who need to be protected.

Therefore, it's best to stay hidden to avoid unnecessary trouble before even entering the mountains.

At noon, Wu Yang insisted on treating them. The two found a restaurant and ate their fill of spicy lamb trotters and hand-pulled lamb. They also ordered a few baked buns with pure lamb filling. In total, Wu Yang spent eight yuan and thirty cents.

This meal made Wu Yang feel a little pain in his throat.

Zhou Jingming had also noticed that Wu Yang didn't have much money left. He said with some comfort, "If nothing unexpected happens, the team can set off tomorrow. Peng Yuanchao will cover all the expenses from now on, so don't worry."

Wu Yang breathed a slight sigh of relief.

In the afternoon, the two strolled around the county town and came into contact with several gold-digging teams. Some of them did not believe in Zhou Jingming's ability to find gold seeds and suspected that his documents were fake, while others felt that Zhou Jingming's price was too high, especially since they felt that his price for helping Wu Yang was unreasonable and did not accept it.

Of course, not all teams disliked the two; two teams agreed to let Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang join their teams.

Zhou Jingming looked at the people in the group. One of them was a gold prospector from Yuzhou who was leading the group. All the people under him were gold prospectors from the same village who were new to gold prospecting. They lacked an experienced gold prospector who knew how to find gold seeds.

The other team was led by two brothers who had a year of gold panning experience, but the people they recruited were a bit weaker. One of them was over sixty years old, and the other was a delicate student who had just graduated from school, around fifteen or sixteen years old. They were related by blood, and they weren't very confident in finding gold.

In comparison, Peng Yuanchao's team is more reliable.

If Peng Yuanchao changes his mind and doesn't want the two of them, Zhou Jingming would prefer the team led by the two brothers.

Weakness gives us the opportunity to be autonomous!
　Please add to your favorites, recommend, invest in, and comment!
　　

(End of this chapter)